DOC wants old jail demolished for parking

The Department of Corrections wants the old detention facility in Susupe to be demolished so it can use the lot for parking spaces.

However, the Department of Public Safety also wants to acquire the old facility, DOC Commissioner Lino S. Tenorio told Saipan Tribune.

Tenorio said the old building is actually DOC property, but since it is dilapidated, DOC ended up batting for the new detention building in line with the consent decree.

“That building is hazardous for the inmates to be living in, with standards that are really below the expectation and the mandates of the federal government,” he said.

The commissioner said it is wise for them to give up the old building and probably have the Department of Public Works come down and demolish it so DOC can use it as parking space.

In the meantime, Tenorio said, Gov. Benigno Fitial has the authority to hand over the facility to DPS.

“I believed DPS Commissioner Claudio Norita is requesting if they can use that facility for whatever purpose. I don’t know, maybe for additional office space or training ground or something,” he said.

As for the separate minimum detention facility located behind the Bureau of Motor Vehicle, Tenorio said the building is originally DOC’s when the latter was still a division under DPS.

“And back then when it was constructed, it was under DOC. But then there was also a memorandum of understanding that was made by then DPS Commissioner Charles Ingram Jr. and the courts,” he said.

Tenorio recalled that the court was supposed to furnish that minimum detention building with a backup generator for DOC’s use in case there is no electric power.

“In return, should DOC move out from that facility, it was supposed to be handed to the courts,” Tenorio said.

But as it stands right now, the commissioner said, he is holding back on giving it up to the courts because he still has some plans to use that building.

“We can still redo the MOU again,” he said.

Tenorio said the minimum security facility, which was built at least nine years ago, was used to house people charged with misdemeanor cases, civil cases, and DUI (driving while under the influence of alcohol) offenders.

Last July 10, all 131 inmates, including those from the minimum security, were finally moved to the new prison in Susupe.